Naturopathic Foundation's blogs are written by naturopathic doctors that work at Naturopathic Foundation's Health Clinic in Markham, Ontario. The blogs provide detailed information on how to prevent and treat disease.

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Is Pre-Conception Health Important?

By Dr. Beata Skorka, ND

Preconception health (PCH) encompasses your
health throughout your whole life. It includes dietary, physical,
social and emotional behaviours that you have learned and incorporate into your
daily life. It is these decisions that play a part in your learned habits and
current health status. For some, preconception health is a standard of health they want to achieve months or years prior to becoming pregnant.However, making changes sooner than later is
important for the following reasons:

1.Epigenetics: The
health of both male and female is important, as genes from each parent are
utilized in the genetic makeup of their offspring. Studies show that dietary
habits of parents play a role in the development of chronic diseases in their
offspring. Obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, asthma, Alzheimers disease
are just some of the long term consequences that can be promoted during an
offsprings life due to the health of their parents.

2.Behavioural Changes: Behaviours and behavioural outcomes such as cigarette smoking and high
body mass index, are difficult to change. Creating healthy habits early on can
benefit the future offspring in two ways. Prior to conception, the quality of sperm
and egg can be optimized.Post
conception, macro- and micronutrient availability can be greater to the fetus.

3.Delayed
Confirmation of Pregnancy: Whether a
pregnancy is or is not planned, it isn’t uncommon to be pregnant and not know.By making changes earlier, the risk of potentially
harmful behaviors can be avoided.

4.Improved fertility: About 1 in 6 couples in Canada are experiencing the challenges of infertility.
By making the right behavioural changes in your day to day life, both men and
woman are able to increase their likelihood of conception.

The following are general recommendations to
optimize your preconception health and increase your likelihood of becoming
pregnant.

FOOD

What you eat, how much and how often affects your weight, mood, nutritional status, overall health, and your likelihood to
conceive. An opportune time to encourage good nutritional habits aimed at
preventing future medical problems such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity,
is prior to pregnancy. The focus when it
comes to making dietary choices should be on real whole foods. Choosing fruits,
vegetables, proteins and healthy fats in order to provide the necessary
building blocks for proper functioning. A fetus utilizes nutrients from the mother’s
body and the food she consumes to develop and thrive until birth.

Proteins:

Protein is required for building
materials in the body, immune function, and enzymatic activity. Protein
recommendations range from 0.8-1.0 g/kg/day depending on one’s activity level.
During pregnancy there is a maternal expansion of blood volume, the uterus and
breast tissue. This is on top of the protein required for fetal placental development.

A general idea of how much protein is in foods:

-Medium
sized egg: 7g

-100g
of chicken: 25-30g

-100g
of lean ground beef: 25-30g

-100g
(1/2C) chickpeas: 20g

-10
almonds: 3g

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates (CHO) are more than pasta, rice,
potatoes and bread. Vegetables are often forgotten as falling under this
category. Vegetables come in a wide variety of shapes and colours, each having
a different CHO and fiber content to them.

Some general rules:

-Eat
at least 7 servings of vegetables a day

-Choose
different colours

-Try
to incorporate new vegetables into your meals

-Fill
half your plate with vegetables, ¼ plate with protein and ¼ with more of a
starchy carbohydrate

Healthy Fats:

In the diet, healthy fats contribute to that
feeling of satiety, make food more palatable, are a concentrated source of
energy, carry fat soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E & L) and are a source
of essential fatty acids. In the body they function as an energy reserve, are a
primary component of cell membranes, pad internal organs, keep us warm and are
essential for the production of hormones (including sex hormones).

Some general rules for fat consumption:

-Recommendation
of 20-35% of your daily calories

-Increase
your intake of unsaturated fatty acids: the fats of plants and fish

oFish,
olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocados

oEssential
fatty acids (EFA) are a type of unsaturated fatty acid.

-Omega 3 is a type of EFA that most
people are not getting enough of in their diets

Avoid:

High exposure
levels to mercury cause changes in the central nervous system. Make it a
habit to exclude these foods from your diet to help prevent some
of the following: fatigue, irritability, tremors, headaches and problems with
hearing. In pregnancy, high levels of mercury can negatively effect the developing fetal nervous system.

How Can a Naturopathic Doctor Help

Optimizing you and your partners’ health through
dietary changes is a great start to preparing for a healthy pregnancy and
offspring. Knowing how to best meet the individualized needs of you and your
partner for fertility can be challenging.A naturopathic doctor can help you feel educated and empowered about
your body, health and future pregnancy. Through evaluation they are able to
assess you and provide an individualized treatment plan based on your health, needs and goals, including guidance with preconception, pregnancy and post natal care.